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Feet Strengthening Exercises

Below is a great video by "wreck ball method" on feet exercises. This is a relatively low impact method to train the feet muscles.

#Feet Training

#102 Animal Flow Routines

Animal flow routines are great for low impact workouts that will still get your heart rate up. It is great for grapplers and martial artists to build a strong core. Animal flow workouts are a great tool to combine with yoga workouts. They can be a great tool for warming up for heavy lifting seasons or can be used for active recovery tool as well.

#101 Windmill Mechanics

Below is a great breakdown of the kettlebell Windmill exercise. Skill of strength is a great source of technical information. Check out http://www.skillofstrength.com/ for more information.

#100 Crawling Biomechanics

Dewey Nielson is a beast. Check out his youtube videos and awesome video on crawling mechanics in video below.

Tips From Spine Mechanics Expert Dr. Stuart McGill

Dr. Stuart McGill i a professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, ON, Canada). He is an expert many elite athletes, coaches, legal experts and even government officials turn to for difficult back cases.

Dr. Stuart McGill top 3 recommendations for a healthy back are

1. Bird Dog

2. Side Plank

3. Curl Ups

Check Out videos Below for some detailed information al of these exercises.

#Back Health

#30 A Major Cause for Knee Pain

For years I suffered knee pain on and off and I did icing/heat and tried treating the inflammation. After reading a article, I realized the cause of my knee pain is not at the knee but my tight right ankle. I sprained my ankle severely a few years back and ever since it has been stiff. I realized my knee was over compensating during squats and various movements to make up for the range of motion lost in my ankle. Having the the right range of motion is very important to avoid running in these issues. Check out a cool ankle mobility exercise by "Movement as medicine".

#29 Wrist Stretch Routine from "Underground Gym"

Below is a video of a simple effective sequence the Underground Gym. Elbow tendonitis is one of the worst injuries and some of these stretches are great for elbow extensors and flexors. Stretching is not just for recovery after an injury but a great tool for injury prevention. Stretching is something that not going to make a difference over night and is a great tool for avoiding that possible injury 4-5 months down the line.

#Stretching the Wrist

A Possible Back Pain Cure From Phillip Beach

Author Phillip Beach of Muscles and Meridians once said "our basic neuroarchitecture is built around patterns that have not changed for 500,000 years." As much as this is true, the current research is revealing more about these neuroachitecture and it's patterns. After watching a very interesting video of Michael Boyle, Phillips on theory to address back pain everything started to make sense.

"The skin of the sole of the foot is supplied by the medial and lateral plantar nerve, from the tibial nerve. The tibial nerve comes from L4, L5, S1, S2, S3. The multifidus receives information direction from the DRG/ Posterior rami nerve from the same nerve roots. Also From S3 nerve root is the pudendal nerve which innervates the pelvic floor muscles"

This explains why a foot massage can actually relax the entire body and is can support the theory of reflexology.

In Beach's Book he states:

"All day I listen to people describing their low back pain. From a biomechanical perspective our species has real vulnerability in the low back region. Contributing factors include our erect posture that places much more weight on lumbar spine and the intervening intervertebral disks (IVDs). In addition we have made a pact with the biomechanical devil by utilizing the H-CF for our gait and throwing patterns as, paradoxically, our lumbar IVDs are particularly vulnerable to twisting insults

Each spinal segment has an army of muscles that start at that level and course downward. Each spinal segment issues a pair of nerves that control the muscles starting from that segment, and supply a segmentally related patch of skin. The most vulnerable spinal segments are found at the function of the lumbar spine and the sacrum (L4/L5 and S1), which send their sensory spinal nerves down to the sole of the foot, i.e. the most vulnerable segments are driven by the most information. This is important. The small muscles of the low back are thus segmentally related to the soles of the feet. Information drives all systems so her we have a sensory platform devoted to the most vulnerable region of the low back. Shoes, from this perspective, are a sensory deprivation chambers that cut down the raw information we need to stand and walk in precarious upright manner. To counter this I suggest to my patients to take their shoes off and walk barefoot on rough ground."

Beach nails it with explaining how the lower back and the soles of the feet are related and he could not use a better way of explaining how bad shoes are from a sensory blockage standpoint. Shoes from Breach's perspective do end up acting as a sensory deprivation chamber. As Beach suggests, it is very important to walk on barefoot on a rough ground. Of course you probably should ease in to this and not constantly walk bare feet in streets since it is not safe.

Kelly Starret earlier in in 2015 stated that he dedicates one day a week to being bare feet. In his podcast he spoke about the benefits of walking bare feet and how important it was. Marv Marinovich for years trained his athletes to do feet work and I don't think anyone really understood exactly why it was so important. Most coaches just went with this but not much really understood the why were were doing this.

Michael Boyle suggested training with bare feet should progress slowly and recommends doing agility ladder drills to get started. I completely aggree with this. I got in to bare feet training way too fast and ended up with bad feet pain. Not to mention, I also dropped a 35 lb plate on my big toe and my x-ray revealed that I broke it. It is very important to be smart and safe with this type of training. Michael also stated in one of his summits that he tried Beach's recommendation on walking on small stones as and said it helped his lower back pain tremendously and his athletes.

Hopefully we will see more studies in the future on walking on stones in correlation to back pain but it does not hurt to start walking on stones daily. As the old Turkish proverb says "No doctor knows your body as good as yourself."

#28 Get Your Mobility On with PVC Pipes

Rolling tools are great for myofascial release and they improve mobility however you always should stretch after a rolling session. My favorite way to stretch is with using elastic bands but I also use a PVC pipe or a stick to aid in my stretching. The pvc pipe is great for hitting shoulders and elbows. Check out video below to get started on using this awesome tool.

#27 Elbow Myofascial Release

Myofascial release techniques with foam rollers, lacrosse balls helped my recovery and rehabilitation process with various injuries. I have a box full of different rollers and I use them interchangeably depending on my recovery process and type different muscle groups I am working on. I was diagnosed with tennis elbow a few years back and extensor region of the forearm muscles are one of the only muscles I cant not truly roll or massage with that much success. I tried lacrossballs, tennisballs, golf balls, trigerpoint rollers and they all work fairly well but did not deliver the results I was looking for. After trying a hexagonal dice one day, I was very impressed with the results. I was able to get deep in to the tissue and relax the muscle applying pressure.

Below is a picture of me using a hexagonal dice. I usually put a cloth over the dice to make the massage/trigger-point-release season smoother. If you are wearing a long sleeve shirt, that may work as well. I put the pressure on for 1-2 minutes then relax and I repeat it a few times. Make sure to move the location of the dice throughout this process. This is a powerful method and helps with relaxing this region. I notice many olympic lifters have tight extensors along with many BJJ, Judo athletes. This method is quite effective and is one of my favorite trigger point pressure points to relax this region.

Salsa: My Amazing Recovery Food

When I feel like I am about to get sick there is a few things I turn to. I am not a fan of taking pills and I try to keep it as natural as possible. I try to hydrate, get some rests. One of my secrets that never fail is my salsa recipe. This is basically the same salsa recipe from Whole Foods. When I eat this salsa, I either don't get sick or I recover fairly quick. It is something that works for me and I am sure will benefit you in way. It tastes amazing and low calorie snack. This is something I try to keep in my fridge at all times and helps my recovery from workouts as well. It keeps me strong and healthy.

This recipe has super inflammatory components and testosterone boosting ingredients.

4 Tomatoes

5 Cloves of Garlic

Half Red Onion (Medium Size)

Half of a while Onion (Medium Size)

2 Handfuls of Cilantro

3 Table Spoons of Lemon Juice

3 Table Spoons of Lime

Half or 1 Jallapeno

Salt, Black Pepper, Cumin

I chop all these up or throw it in a vitamix at very low setting.

Tomatoes are loaded with vitamin C and also a great source of lycopene which is an anti-inflammatory chemical. The Garlic, red and white onion has allicin which is a testosterone boosting chemical. This is a great snack for muscle recovery and soreness and can also be performance boosting as well due to it's anabolic nature.

This mix provides a great kick of nutrients and I try to eat it with a little bit of avocado in order to get the fat soluble nutrients. Years ago I read about a mountain runner drinking tomato juice to aid his recovery. I make tomato juices as well but this salsa recipe definitely has it's place in my kitchen. To make guacamole, I basically just smash a few avocados and add a little bit of this salsa in to it and mix it.

You can make turkey tacos and eat it with this or just even add it on toasted french bread. This is a raw food recipe and since it is not heated at all, all enzymes are active. This is something I believe that keeps me strong and healthy. I highly recommend this recipe. It just tastes amazing.

Battle Chains with 4 Inch Ball Handle

Battle ropes are a great tool for athletes; and, I find them to be a great complimentary tool to kettlebells & sandbag workouts. They are a great tool to build up upper body conditioning and to build a long lasting grip. I like to use a two-inch battle rope to focus on grip endurance and there are not many other tools that can match the benefits of this type of training. Building not just a strong grip, but a long lasting grip, is very important for most sports, especially martial arts. If your grip wears out during a grappling bout you are out of luck. I find this similar to being stuck in a gunfight without any ammo. I have seen MMA and grappling athlete’s grips and arms burn out after an unsuccessful guillotine attempt. This is a tough spot to be in. If you have well conditioned grips and arms you can recover from these type of situations and keep going.

Another tool I use to amplify the benefits of this type of training is: using chains and ball handles. I commonly use a 4-inch softball with an i-hook attached, which is connected to a chain. I basically insert a 3-inch i-hook into a 4-inch diameter ball as shown in the picture below. Then, I use a chain quick link to hook up the chain to the ball handle that is shown picture below.

This is a set up that really works my grip and forearms and is a great complimentary tool to add to your current battle rope training. I use ball handles that are 2-inches to 5 inches in diameter. It is great to use different handles to continuously challenge the grip. I use larger diameter ball handles to focus on two handed rotational exercises or chopping exercises. The ball handle is an amazing tool to challenge your upper body and grip strength and conditioning. I use a two chain set up or a single chain set up, as shown in video, for unilateral exercises and rotational power building exercises.

In the video below I am demonstrating only a few of the exercises that can be performed. With this chain and ball handle modification, you can perform any exercise that uses a battle rope. The chains have a different feel and your grips and forearms will be in for a fight. I recommend interlocking your fingers during the two handed exercises. The figure eights’, rainbows, rainbows w/ lunges, and Russian twists are great to perform with the two handed exercises.

The battle ropes I use, are costlier than the chain set up. If you have chains laying around, you can use this set up to get a great workout without spending too much. I recommend using the ropes and this battle chain set up as a part of the routine for the best results. This ball handle chain set up will supercharge any of your unconventional workouts.

Battle Chains with 4 Inch Ball Handle

Battle Chain Modification for MMA Athletes

Battle ropes are a great tool for athletes; and, I find them to be a great complimentary tool to kettlebells & sandbag workouts. They are a great tool to build up upper body conditioning and to build a long lasting grip. I like to use a two-inch battle rope to focus on grip endurance and there are not many other tools that can match the benefits of this type of training. Building not just a strong grip, but a long lasting grip, is very important for most sports, especially martial arts. If your grip wears out during a grappling bout you are out of luck. I find this similar to being stuck in a gunfight without any ammo. I have seen MMA and grappling athlete’s grips and arms burn out after an unsuccessful guillotine attempt. This is a tough spot to be in. If you have well conditioned grips and arms you can recover from these type of situations and keep going.

Another tool I use to amplify the benefits of this type of training is: using chains and ball handles. I commonly use a 4-inch softball with an i-hook attached, which is connected to a chain. I basically insert a 3-inch i-hook into a 4-inch diameter ball as shown in the picture below. Then, I use a chain quick link to hook up the chain to the ball handle that is shown picture below.

This is a set up that really works my grip and forearms and is a great complimentary tool to add to your current battle rope training. I use ball handles that are 2-inches to 5 inches in diameter. It is great to use different handles to continuously challenge the grip. I use larger diameter ball handles to focus on two handed rotational exercises or chopping exercises. The ball handle is an amazing tool to challenge your upper body and grip strength and conditioning. I use a two chain set up or a single chain set up, as shown in video, for unilateral exercises and rotational power building exercises.

In the video below I am demonstrating only a few of the exercises that can be performed. With this chain and ball handle modification, you can perform any exercise that uses a battle rope. The chains have a different feel and your grips and forearms will be in for a fight. I recommend interlocking your fingers during the two handed exercises. The figure eights’, rainbows, rainbows w/ lunges, and Russian twists are great to perform with the two handed exercises.

The battle ropes I use, are costlier than the chain set up. If you have chains laying around, you can use this set up to get a great workout without spending too much. I recommend using the ropes and this battle chain set up as a part of the routine for the best results. This ball handle chain set up will supercharge any of your unconventional workouts.

Below is a video of a Mongolian Log workout by Marc Switaj. In this video a short log is used. Some exercises such as swings can be performed with a shorter logs and these can't really be performed with long logs. If you don't have a gym or fancy equipment this low tech alternatives like this will give you a great workout and can get you in world class shape. In video below you will see Khovskol performing exercise below: * Push Ups * Overhead squats * Log Sit Ups * Russian twists with log * Backwards Log Throws. I turned to log workouts mostly due to my Judo instructor. My instructor was a Sambo world champion, Wrestling Olympian and Judo multiple time national gold medalist. He used this training at his earlier years of his career to build up serious functional strength. I also saw many Eastern Europeans using logs for conditioning. Check out my articles on log workouts below if you haven't already. Long Log Training How to build core strength with LONG log training In video below Marc demonstrates the Mongolian log workout:

A while back John Brookfield rocked the world when he shared his battle rope system. John is a phenomenal athlete and coach that inspires many. He always thinks outside of the box and he is a leading expert in functional and grip strength. I think we all should start thinking outside the box versus traditional training methods that are defined only by the fitness community. Some of the strongest people I met are carpenters, mechanics, farmers and construction laborers. They spend most of their time building their strength at their daily job and they have a super functional strength that is applicable for martial arts and various other sports. I worked in the construction industry for a while and I was always careful when I shook hands with carpenters. They just have a "Superman" type strength. This is something I always could not help but notice. Some of the contractors did not have the best cardio since they did not eat well, smoked, and drank alcohol, but strength wise they were freaks. These guys are some of the most functional strong men I know and they did not develop this type of strength in the gym so I think it is very important to think outside of the box and find other ways to make you stronger. I think thinking outside of the box is great with everything and this is a path that is less travelled but this is something that can be more rewarding if one can find the courage to go this route. If we did not have people that did not dare to think different, we would not have as many of the discoveries as we had. A good example is the Wright brothers. If we want to be at the frontier line of making changes to the fitness world, or really in any area, we must dare to be different and think outside the box. Please check out video below for one exercise for barrel workouts. I will be posting more of these in the future.

Power is the amount of work that is done in a specific amount of time. Power = Work / Time. Work = Force X Displacement. This leads to Power = Force X Displaceme nt/ Time. This basically means that to become more powerful we need to do more work with in a specific amount of time or to do the same amount of work in shorter amount of time. More we increase the work/time ratio the more powerful we will become. Since Displacement/Time is basically velocity this means that Power = Force x Velocity. To become more powerful we need to be strong and fast. To develop power Martin Rooney recommends squats, deadlifts, bench press but also to do sprints, throws, etc. Basically he is saying we need to become stronger and faster to develop power. This equation explains why olympic lifting builds power. Olympic lifters are basically increasing the work/time ratio thorough their training to break new records. There are various other ways to generate power such as medicine ball throws. There are also other ways that can cause neurological adaptations to physiologically lead to muscles being more powerful. One of these methods is contrast training. There has been recent research that french contrast training which is a form of contrast training that has been supporting the theories on this type of training. Football players have been using contrast training to build serious explosiveness for a decade. The most simple way to utilize contrast training is working a heavy 3-5 rep lift on a certain group of muscles and then following with an plyometric exercise that uses same muscles such as jumps and throws. Good Examples: Bench Press 3-5 reps followed by 5 medicine ball chest throws Squats followed by 5 Box Jumps. Joe DeFranco discusses contrast training in depth and he does not recommend the lifting exercise to last more than 20 seconds to ensure the muscles are fatigued. You should rest 10-20 seconds before the plyometric exercise. There are various examples of this type of training and it is important to make sure you are lifting 3-5 reps with performing 5 reps plyometric exercises. You should rest 3-5 minute between each set and you shall perform minimum of 5 sets of this type of training. I usually work 5-8. In theory, performing the heavy lift prior to the plyometric exercise should result in more muscle fiber contractions since the first near max (3-5) rep lift will increase the recruitment of motor units which will be used for the plyometric exercise. This type of training will remodel your central nervous system and help you become more explosive in theory. Athletes have improved their personal records with this type of training and there is a good amount of research to support this. This type of training can be super taxing on the nervous system and it needs to be used as a part of a phasing program so it is performed for a specific amount of time (weeks ) to get the optimum benefits without risking injury. When most athletes that try this type of training, they get great results and some try performing this type of work all the time. This can lead to over training and can lead to a high chance of injury. I highly recommend working with a certified coach to help you incorporate this type of training in your current training program.

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